


Step Into Christmas

by Johnismyloveforever64



Category: The Beatles
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:00:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21719572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnismyloveforever64/pseuds/Johnismyloveforever64
Summary: This is a little bit of Christmas fluff. John and Paul go Christmas shopping, and John picks up something extra special.
Relationships: John Lennon/Paul McCartney
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Step Into Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> I thought a little bit of fluff might be a nice distraction on this sad day.

It was two weeks before Christmas, and John and Paul were finally in the Christmas spirit. It had taken them a little longer than usual as they have had some year. In February, they performed in America for the first time and had the biggest gig of their lives. They toured America in the summer and then the world. And just this fall they released their fourth album (one that they are hoping to forget sooner rather than later). They were supposed to get the whole month of December off, but something came up. Ringo had tonsilitis, and he had to get his tonsils out. Consequently, the other three somehow got roped into a press conference about it and a mini-photo shoot at the hospital. So, they weren’t really off-duty till December 10th when Ringo was officially out of the hospital, and their last photo-shoot of the year was taken. 

And as they were in the Christmas spirit, John and Paul decided to do a little Christmas shopping at their favorite department store in the city: Alderman’s. They arrived just after dark, and the place was already packed. As they entered the store, they were pushed into a massive crowd of Christmas shoppers, all moving in different directions. 

“This is brilliant,” John said, ducking down low, “we can get lost in the crowd.”

“How is that brilliant?” Paul asked, dodging someone’s sleeve as they swung around. 

“Because, no one will recognize us.” 

Paul caught his drift, and quietly milled through the crowd. Finally, they pushed through the crowd and made it to the make-up counter. 

“Wait, why are we over here?” Paul asked as he looked at the silver and gold plated lipsticks. 

“I needed to take a breather,” John responded. He spun around and faced the counter. He stared at the rows and rows of lipstick, eye shadow, and concealer. The glittering lights reflected in the glass. “Do you want something like this?” 

Paul giggled. 

John and Paul were there to buy Christmas presents for each other. Every year, they went to Alderman’s, went on opposite sides of the store, picked something out, had it packaged, and gave it out on Christmas day. And as they were leaving, they’d try and guess what the other got. 

“John, to make things perfectly clear, I don’t want lipstick. Why? Do you want some?”  
John, always quick, responded flatly, “Nah, can’t find my shade.” He tapped the glass and faced Paul, “but considering the crowd, I think this is the only part of Alderman’s we’re going to see. Thus, the only present you’re getting under the tree is a makeup kit.” 

Paul, sighing, grabbed John’s wrist and pulled him back into the crowd. Elbowing a few people out of the way, they made it to the escalator. They managed to get on and were safely away from the crowd. 

“Well, I got us away from the crowd.” 

John, standing on the wrong side of the escalator, grimaced. In the process of getting to the escalator, he was shoved around a lot, and he was now looking a little worse for wear. His tie was slightly undone and his hair was a mess. 

“We’ll fix it when we get to the fitting rooms,” Paul assured him. “Besides, anything is better than being in that crowd. Why do you think there are so many people here anyway?”

“Does it have something to do with that?” As they made it to the top of the escalator, they could see a massive Christmas display complete with fake snow, twinkle lights, and two rows of fake reindeer in-flight. 

“Father Christmas,” they said at the same time. 

They rushed over to the display. Just behind a glittery pickett fence, Father Christmas sat on a velvet throne. Two saleswomen stood beside him dressed as elves. And just a little bit to the left of where they were standing, a massive line stretched from the display all the way to the back of the store. 

“Yeah, I get it now,” Paul replied. “Still, you’d think people would give up on Alderman’s Father Christmas and go over to Gimble’s.” 

“You know, when I was a kid I was walking around Liverpool at Christmas time, and I saw that every department store was advertising their own Father Christmas, and I said, ‘how many Father Christmases are there?’ I’m told it was very adorable.” 

“I’m sure it was,” Paul responded, giving him a sultry look. “I’m sure you were the cutest little boy.”

“I’m sure I was. Cuter than you.” 

“Hey!” 

John laughed. He gently touched Paul’s arm. He wished that he could kiss him, but they were in public and eyes were everywhere. So, he settled on a light hug. 

“That was unexpected,” Paul responded. 

“I’m affectionate,” John replied. “Yeah, but normally in public you’re like a robot.”

John was truly offended.  
“I’ll show you a robot. I am going to get you the best Christmas present ever.”  
“I don’t doubt it, but I do know one thing. By the time we leave Alderman’s, I’m going to know what’s in that bag.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because every year you buy me something, and you get so excited to show it to me, that you open the bag before we make it to the exit.” 

They both laughed. John looked a bit sheepish, but he had to admit that Paul was right. He had a track record of buying amazing gifts, but he also had a hard time keeping them a secret before Christmas morning. As a result, he usually had to run out and buy another Christmas present right before the big day so Paul would have something to open come Christmas morning. 

“Well, this is a two-way thing. Why don’t I show you what I’m interested in this year.” 

John and Paul pushed through the Father Christmas crowd and headed towards the menswear section.  
On the way, they had to pause in the appliance section. Paul got very distracted by the pinkest toaster he’s ever seen. 

“We can sure as hell make some gay toast,” John said, staring at his reflection in the toaster. Paul leaned down next to him so their shoulders were touching. 

“The gayest toast.” 

“Hey, maybe we can buy a pink blender to match. I’m sure the fellas would love that.” 

“Screw them, I want me gay toast.” 

“Gayest toast,” John corrected him. “Well, I think I know what you want. Now, let’s do me.”

He pulled Paul away from the appliances and towards the bedding section. 

“You want a new bed?” Paul asked as he stared at the rows and rows of perfectly made beds.

“No, but I want to test one out.” He hopped up on the fluffiest, puffiest looking one and Paul laid on the edge of the bed. They both shut their eyes to pretend like they were sleeping. 

“This would be a good bed to cuddle in,” Paul remarked without opening his eyes. 

“Agreed.” 

He opened one and looked at Paul lying on the end of the bed. He looked so cute all outstretched and cozy. 

“Then get your ass over here.” 

Paul laid faced down on the bed with his arms outstretched. He had one arm hanging off the side and one directly in John’s face. He laughed and rolled over. He poked Paul in the back of the leg with his shoe and tickled him a bit. 

“Sto-op,” he responded. He rolled over and poked John in the back. John rolled over and faced him. 

“Man, I wish there weren’t security cameras on us right now.” 

“Well, what would you do?” Paul asked coyly. 

John pretended to think about it for a sec. “Don’ know. I’d probably start with a kiss.”

“Always a good opener.” 

“And then I’d caress your cheek. Maybe I’ll kiss you some more. And then, I’d kiss your ear, and nibble on it a bit.” In a soft and romantic voice, he said, “And all the while, I’d hold you close to me.” Paul lit up. Then, John added, “then we’d have some really wild sex.”  
Paul laughed. 

“Ah, that laugh. I love that laugh.” 

“You are feeling sentimental aren’t you?” Paul remarked. 

“Course, it’s Christmas time. And I’m just spending a lot of time thinking about how lucky I am to have you.” Paul smiled. 

“I love you too,” he whispered.

“Excuse me?”  
They looked up and saw one of the salesmen standing over them. He waved to them. 

“Are you two buying this bed?”

“We were just checking it out,” John responded in a gruff voice. “Come on, let’s look at some swatches.” 

“Hey, you look familiar. Did you used to work here?”

“Mate, I have had the great fortune to never work retail in my life.” Paul realized what he just said seconds before John did, and everyone involved looked horrified. 

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave the department.”

They rushed out of the furniture department and into the home section. They crouched behind some plates.

“Sorry we got side-tracked. I was trying to show you this suit I’m interested in.” 

“It’s okay. The shame will eventually wear-off, and we’ll be able to show our faces again.”  
John laughed. He looked lovingly at Paul, and Paul did the same. 

“Do you really have a great gift idea?” Paul asked him. 

“No, do you?”

“Not really, but we’ll figure something out.” 

Just then, Paul’s eyes fell on something across the aisle. He began to move towards it.

“Where you going? That guy could still be out there.”  
Paul ignored him and moved towards a shelf just across the way. John followed after him. Paul stood in front of a shelf full of matching Christmas dishes. Each dish had a Christmas tree in the middle and little Christmas lights around the side. 

“These are the dishes,” Paul said to himself. He picked up a small plate and looked at it closely. He had a sort of awe-inspired expression. John was a bit confused. 

“What am I looking at?”

“My mum used to have a set of Christmas dishes she’d put out every year, and they were exactly like these. I swear it’s the same pattern.” He flipped it over. “It must be because these are Lenox, and I think my mum’s were Lenox too.” He flipped it back over and studied the little intricate details on the tree. 

“They’re nice,” John remarked, picking one of the smaller plates. “They’re really nice actually.” He put his back. “Does your dad still have them? You could always add to the set. I mean, they have teacups. You could always get him a teacup.”  
Paul shook his head. 

“After mum died, we had to down-size, and the dishes had to go.”  
He put the plate back, and faced John. He forced a smile. 

“So, show me that suit.” He pulled John away from the home section and to the menswear section. 

John showed Paul the suit he’d seen a few weeks ago. It was a navy blue suit with silver buttons. He also showed Paul some silver cufflinks he was interested in.  
“I’ll think about it,” was Paul’s only response.  
With that, John said, “Why don’t we start our search in earnest. We can meet back here in an hour, k?” 

He saluted his boyfriend and took off towards the luggage (a tactic he typically used to throw Paul off). With John out of sight, Paul headed towards the jewelry section.  
……

An hour later, John and Paul met back in front of the Father Christmas display. They were both holding medium-sized white bags. That didn’t give either of them much of a clue as to what they other one got. 

“Is it heavy?” Paul wondered as they made their way to the escalator. 

“A bit, but that doesn’t tell you much.” 

“Is mine bulky? It seems like the corners of the bag are a bit stretched.”

“It’s pretty bulky.” 

John couldn’t help but smile. He had gotten Paul a really good gift, but he’d have to wait 2 whole weeks to give it to him. He knew that if he just got it home, then he’d be in the clear. Once it was safely tucked away in his closet, he wouldn’t think about it much till the big day. He just had to push it out of his mind till he got out of the store.

“I do think you’ll like it, though,” he pointed as he stepped onto the escalator. “In fact, I think you’ll be quite excited.” 

“How excited?” 

“Like an 11 out of 10.”

“Really? It’s that good?” 

“It’s that good,” John responded. 

“Will I cry?” 

“You just might.”

“Wow, then this is something special. I mean, you always give me something special, but this is like exceptional.” 

“Yeah, I’d say it is.” 

They were almost at the bottom of the escalator. 

“So, am I going to cry when I open my gift?” John asked. 

“It’s not meant to make you cry. I think you’ll just be really happy when you see it.”

“To the point of tears?” 

“Perhaps.” 

Paul was smiling so much, and it made John smile. He loved Paul’s smile. It was in his highly  
competitive top 5 favorite things about Paul. 

They stepped off the escalator. The crowd had thinned out, and so they had a pretty clear shot to the front entrance. John was relieved. He was almost in the clear. He was about to take off when Paul stopped him. 

“You know, I was thinking, I haven’t had my picture taken with Father Christmas since I was like 8. I’m kind of feeling it.” 

John grinned. 

“It’s so lame, but I love it.” 

They ran up the escalator, nearly tripping on the way up. The line was still long, but John and Paul got in line as if they were two excitable kids. 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Paul said as they inched closer to Father Christmas. 

“Are people staring? I can’t tell if people are staring.” John remarked his eyes darting around the room. 

“Forget the adoring public. Forget about what other people think. I know you, and I know you have the chaotic energy of like a goblin on speed.” 

“I mean, sometimes that was literally true.” 

“So, I know that despite all of your embarrassment and hesitation, that this is what you want to do right now.” 

“And that is why I love you.” 

“What is?” 

“That you are equally chaotic goblin, and yet you always have some absurdly sensible answer to everything. You’re just so perfect.” 

“As are you.” He touched John’s arm in a seemingly innocent gesture, but they both knew it was a lot more than that. 

“Hey, Lost Boys, are you up?” The elf called up. 

John and Paul shared a smile and passed through the glittery gate. They stood behind Father Christmas and did little bunny ears behind him. The elf snapped the picture, and laughing they walked off, nearly forgetting to take the polaroid. 

“Okay,” John said as they reached the escalator, “I’m going to cave.”

John beamed. 

“I knew it!” He exclaimed. “You couldn’t wait.”

“Don’t make me regret my decision.” 

He held out the little white bag, and Paul eagerly took it. He reached in and pulled out a white box that said Lenox on the front.

“You didn’t?” He said, smiling. 

“I mean, what else was I going to get?” 

Paul opened the box and pulled out a Christmas plate with his mother’s recognizable Christmas pattern. 

Paul’s lip started quivering in spite of himself. 

“I fucking hate how good you are at this,” he cried. He threw his arms around John and hugged him. John held him close. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

“I love you too.”

They walked down the escalator, Paul holding the box very tightly. John looked on lovingly. Paul was too happy to even be smug about the fact that he won.  
Just as they were about to exit the store, Paul paused. 

“What?” John asked, puzzled. 

Paul thrust the bag into John’s hands. 

“But you were about to win.”

“I don’t care. I just want to see your face, and I can’t wait two weeks.” 

“Can’t argue with that,” John replied. 

He reached in the bag and pulled out an alarm clock. 

“Paul, this is an alarm clock. No offense, but you suggested there might be tears.” 

Paul took it, wound it, and then handed it back to him. When it rang, the sound of Snow White’s I’m Wishing played. John looked at it quizzically, and then realization crossed his face. 

“This is the song?” 

“This is the song.” 

“The one I always sing in the shower and never know the words to.” 

“The song you based Do You Wanna Know a Secret after.” 

“And the song my mother always used to sing to me when I was little. I never knew all the words.” 

“And now you have it.”

“It’s like I’m waking up to her singing to me every day.”

He looked lovingly at Paul. He kissed him on the cheek. 

“Well,” John said, wiping a tear from his eye, “I don’t know what I’m going to get you for the big day.” 

Paul shrugged. 

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” 

……….

It was Christmas morning, and the boys had just opened just about every present under the tree.  
Brian was sat on an armchair, overlooking the boy as they sat in a pile of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes. He had a little notepad in which he was keeping track of who gave what. 

“Okay, so George gave Ringo a tea set. Ringo gave George a tumbler set. George gave Paul a new sweater. Paul gave George a pair of raybans. Paul gave Ringo cologne. John gave Ringo a scarf. John gave George forks and spoons. But you know, John and Paul didn’t exchange gifts.” 

“I’ve got it,” John said, handing Paul a big box. He opened it up to find the gayest toaster. 

“This is so sweet. Now we can make the gayest toast.”

“The what?” George responded. John and Paul ignored him. 

“Thanks, John. Now, for your present.” 

He handed John and envelope. He pulled out a picture of a bed. 

“It’s the bed we saw in Alderman’s. It hasn’t arrived yet, so that’s why I gave you the picture.” 

John thanked him and gave him a kiss. 

“That’s all?” Ringo replied. “For such a sickeningly romantic couple, you got some boring gifts.”

“Trust us when we say that Paul and I know how to give out gifts.”


End file.
